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Fowler Brothers papers
mssFowler
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Title: Fowler Brothers papers
Inclusive Dates: 1880-2014
Collection Number: mssFowler
Creator:
Fowler Brothers (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Extent:
464 items in 12 boxes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Fax: (626) 449-3477
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection includes material related to the history of the Fowler Brothers bookstore in Los Angeles and the Fowler and
Lindstrom families of South Pasadena, California.
Language of Material: The records are in English.
Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the
Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to
quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such
activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is
one, and obtaining permission rests with the researcher.
[Identification of Item], Fowler Brothers papers, The Huntington
Library, San Marino, California.
Gift of Margaret Lindstrom, Siegfried Fowler Lindstrom and John William Lindstrom, November 2014.
Fowler Brothers bookstore was the oldest family-owned bookstore in Los Angeles, in operation from 1888 to 1994, when it closed
due to new, large chain bookstores and subway construction that disrupted shopping downtown. It began initially as a church
and Sunday school supply house, but became a book and stationery store that survived six different downtown locations. The
store was founded by brothers J. W. Fowler and Robert A. Fowler of South Pasadena, California. When the bookstore closed,
Siegfried F. Lindstrom, grandson of J. W. Fowler, and son of Ruth Fowler Lindstrom, was running the store.
The Fowler Brothers papers contain material related to the history of the Fowler Brothers bookstore, including some records,
ephemera, bookmarks, publications, photographs, and six scrapbooks that document the 106-year-old history of the bookstore.
Also included is the store’s visitor book which includes signatures of several notable people including: artist Leo Politi,
Ray Bradbury (who was a frequent visitor of the store, also he met his wife there), John Philip Sousa, Zane Grey, Douglas
Fairbanks, and Charles Lindberg.
The collection also documents the history of the Fowler and Lindstrom families of South Pasadena, California. This material
includes diaries and other writings by Ruth Fowler Lindstrom, as well as Warde Fowler’s experiences in World War I, multiple
family members’ experiences in World War II, genealogy material on the Fowler, Young, and Lindstrom families, and over 130
family photographs. Some of the material includes notes written by Margaret Lindstrom, wife of Siegfried F. Lindstrom, and
donor of the collection.
Arrangement
Organized in the following manner: Manuscripts and Correspondence (Boxes 1-4); Scrapbooks (Boxes 5-10); Ephemera and Photographs
(Boxes 11-12).
Bradbury, Ray, 1920-2012
Fowler, J. W.
Fowler, Robert A.
Lindstrom, Ruth Fowler
Politi, Leo, 1908-1996
Dawson’s Book Shop
Fowler Brothers (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Booksellers and bookselling -- California -- Los Angeles
Bookstores -- California -- Los Angeles
Prisoners of war -- Japan
Women -- California
World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, American
World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American
World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, Japanese
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
South Pasadena (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
South Pasadena (Calif.) -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Diaries -- California -- 20th century
Ephemera -- California -- 19th century
Ephemera -- California -- 20th century
Genealogies (histories) -- United States -- 20th century
Letters (correspondence) -- California -- 20th century
Manuscripts -- California -- 20th century
Photographs -- California -- 20th century
Scrapbooks -- California -- 20th century
Scrapbooks -- California -- 21st century